Prospect of parole upsets DUI crash victim's family

Williamson A.M. (The Tennessean), Thursday, January 6, 2005
© 2005 The Tennessean. Used by permission.
By Mitchell Kline, Staff Writer

FRANKLIN — Yuko Glover said her daughter would still be alive if the state had harsher punishments for first- and second-time DUI offenders.

Her daughter, Sherri Glover, 33, of Nashville , was killed by a drunk driver near Fairview on June 22, 2003. Jimmy L. Nall, the man behind the wheel of the pickup truck that hit Sherri Glover head-on, had been convicted of DUI twice in Davidson County and didn't have a driver's license.

On Tuesday, Nall, 47, of Fairview , pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide by intoxication, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He could be eligible for parole by 2008, but cannot have a driver's license for the next 10 years.

Nall has been in jail since the collision, and the time he has served will count towards his sentence. Part of his sentence includes carrying photographs of Sherri Glover and a packet of information about her.

When police arrived at the scene of the collision on Highway 100, they found a man who was so intoxicated he didn't know where he was or what had happened. Nall was unable to even attempt a field sobriety test. He had a blood alcohol content of .36, according to the THP. That's more than three times the legal limit.

Standing outside the courtroom after Nall's hearing, Yuko Glover said state lawmakers should make drunk driving a more serious crime. Currently, DUI doesn't become a felony offense until someone has been convicted three previous times.

''There will be many other mothers losing their children because first-time DUI isn't taken as seriously as it should be,'' she said.

More than 40 of Sherri Glover's friends and family members witnessed the sentencing on Tuesday. Many, including Millie Webb, former national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, expressed disappointment with the sentence and with existing laws.

''We need an open-container law, and I'd like to see (punishments) for restaurants and bars that let people leave drunk,'' Webb said. ''More changes need to be made. I'd like to see people who commit irresponsible behaviors come face to face with responsible justice.''

Georgia Felner, who prosecuted Nall's case, said harsher sentences and stiffer penalties could keep people from drinking and driving.

''I don't think there is an appropriate punishment for something like this,'' Felner said. ''I had to work within the laws and punishments given to us.''

Stephen Glover, Sherri's father, said he plans on attending future hearings to oppose Nall's parole.

''I'm committed to keeping him in jail for the full 15 years, because my daughter is never coming back,'' Stephen Glover, said.

Stephen Glover has posted a Web site (www.sherriglover.org)

This article courtesy of Mitchell Kline and The Tennessean.

http://www.tennessean.com/williamsonam/news/archives/05/01/63703519.shtml?Element_ID=63703519

All text and graphics © Copyright 2003 Stephen L. Glover